Regulating pourout for bottles



y 26, 3 v E. SOKOLIK 2,639,839

REGULATING POUROUTS FOR BOTTLES Filed Oct. 27. 1949 TIE 3 3/ ZNI/Z/YTOFPatented May 26, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE REGULATING POUROUT FORBOTTLES Edward Sokolik, New Brighton, Minn.

I Application October 27, 1949, Serial No. 123,840

6 Claims.

My present invention relates to improvements in pouring spouts forbottles more in particular for liquor or pharmaceutical bottles.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a pouring deviceprovided with an air vent,

and adapted for easily and precisely regulating,v

in the process of pouring, the volume of the pouring stream so as tofill a whisky glass or a pharmaceutical measure to the exact levelwithout exercising any special effort or dexterity by the bartenderfilling the glass or pharmacist filling the dru measure.

A further object is to provide a pouring device with a gravity operativemeans for opening the pouring orifice as the bottle is being tilted andclosing the orifice as the bottle is being arighted, the means avoidingthe pouring stream, and

Another object is to provide a pouring device with a gravity operativemeans for opening the air passageway as the bottle is being tilted andclosing the passageway as the bottle is being arighted.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent as the specificationprogresses.

Invention resides in the combination and arrangement of the pouringpassageway and the air passageway and providing said passageways withgravity operative means for opening and closing said passageways in theprocess of pouring as the bottle is being tilted and arighted,respectively, the means for opening and closing the pouring orificebeing adapted to avoid the pouring stream. 1

On the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side view of the device partly in section.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the humped top edge of the device partly insection.

Fig. 3 is a view on line 3-3, Figure 1, looking in the directionindicated by the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a view on line 44, Figure 1, looking in the directionindicated by the arrows.

Fig. 5 is a view of the inner end of Figure 1.

Fig. 6 is a side view of a modified device partly in section.

Fig. '7 is a view on line 1i, Figure 6, looking in the directionindicated by the arrows.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of the humped to edge of the device correspondingto Fig. 2 omitting the part in section.

Figs. 6, '7 and 8 illustrate one form of my pour-.

ing device, which includes a combined stopperportion l1 and aspout-portion l8, either of suitable material.

The device may be made in a unitary body, or

it may be made in two sections (not shown) transversely joined by a slipor other joint. As illustrated, it is preferably made of lateralhemisections II and i2 sealably joined in a medial plane I3. Thisstructure facilitates the manufacture of the device as the pouringpass-ageway 22 and air assageway l5 are formed in complementary lateralhemi-passageways, one in each lateral section II and I2 and adapted toregister at the medial plane l3 when the said sections II and 12- aresealably joined together.

A pouring passageway 22 and an air passageway I5 extend from end to endof the device, the air passageway l5 extending, with the device in ahorizontal pouring position, along the top of, but separated from thepouring passageway 22 and being substantially of a uniformcrosssectional area throughout its length. These passageways 22 and 15extend horizontally and normally parallelly superposed through thestopperportion I1 and preferably of elliptical shape laterally, andpreferably somewhat larger at their orifices and 23, respectively' Inthe spout-portion IS, the bottom 24 of th pouring passageway 22, in ahorizontal pouring position, is deflected arcuately downwardly nominallytwenty-five degrees and is humped at the top 25 thereof adjacent thestopper-portion l1 and sloping, generally in a straight line, 29 to thefree end of the spout-portion IS. The lateral sides 28 of the pouringpassageway 22 converge from the generally rounded orifice 26 thereof tothe highest part 25 of the pouring passageway 22 adjacent thestopper-portion N. This passageway 22 is transitioned from. generallyrounded orifice at the end to a narrow and high portion M in the form ofa hump 25, the cross-sectional area throughout the said pouringpassageway being substantially uniform, and in the process of pouring, amajor change in the tilting of the bottle at is necessary to produce aminor change in the volume of the pouring stream requiring lessprecision and skill on the part of the bar-tender in serving liquorssuch as whiskey or on the part of the pharmacist in prescribing. Thepouring is easily and precisely regulated and the conventional pouringof too little or too much is done away with.

The outer periphery of the spout-portion l8 is i1lustrated as beinggenerally in symmetry with the inner periphery thereof and the airpasvertical plane of said spout-portion l8.

The stopper-portion I1 is telescopically pro- 3 vided preferably with aresilient ferrule 2| of rubber, cork or the like, and may be providedwith a flanged cap 19 which may be brimmed.

I prefer to deflect the free end of the spoutportion l8 downwardlynominally twenty-five degrees and to form the plane of the end of saidspout-portion H2 at right angles to the axis of the free end thereof.This arrangement produces an overshot plane of about forty-five degreesto cooperate with'the specific design of my gravity operative pivotallybiased lid 26 to open and close the orifices 26 and 27 avoiding thepouring stream. To attain this mode of operation, I provide, asillustrated, my spout above the orifice thereof with a cantilever arm3!, provided with a pivot bore at the end thereof, and projectingforwardly from the end of the spout-portion l3 sufficiently to cooperatewith the cantilever arms 32 to avoid the pouring stream in the processof tilting and arighting the bottle 30.

The arms 32 are parallelly spaced apart and project forwardly from thetop of the front of the lid 16 straddling the arm 3i of the spoutportionId. In View of the device being made in two lateralv hemi-sections, itis preferable to provide the lid 16 with one arm and the spout with twoarms, one on each lateral section. The arms 32 are provided withregistering pivot bores registering with the bore of the arm on thespout and provided with a pivot 9. In a horizontal pouring position, thelid I6 will open at an angle of some 80degrees depending on the relativeweight of the lid 16 and its arm 32.

Figs. 1 to illustrate a modified form of the invention. The onlydifference isthat the air passageway 15, instead of extending from thehump 25 along the top 29 substantially in a straight line to the freeend of the spout, is directed from the back of the hump 25 in the formof a reverse curve 34 emerging as an inlet air vent 36. 1 The back ofthe hump 25 is preferably shaped in the form of a nose 33 to provideaccommodation for the curve 34. This curved portion of the airpassageway 15 not only serves as such passageway, but also serves as anenlarged runway 34 fora gravity operative ball valve 35, which is placedin before the sections are sealed together. This runway is provided atthe inner end thereof with an air bypass and ball stop 37. While thismay be accomplished in various ways, I prefer to provide the runway witha ball valve 35 small enough to permit the air to by-pass the valve atthe inner end, Where I provide the stop 3'! for the ball valve 35. Atthe outer end of the runway 34, I provide an annular seat for the ball35 by reducing the diameter of the runway. This arrangement ispeculiarly adapted to hemi-lateral construction of the device, as theball is placed into the runway 34 before the hemi-lateral sections aresealed together.

The ball valve 35 rolls in the runway 34 from the annular seat thatencompasses the air vent 35 to the stop 31 in the inner end opening theair vent 38 as the bottle 30 is being tilted and rolls from the stop 31in the inner end to the annular seat and closes the air vent 35 as thebottle 30 is being arighted. It is to be understood that the form of myinvention, herewith described and shown, is to be taken as a preferredexample of the same, and that various changes in the shape, size "andarrangement of the parts may be resorted to, without departing from thespirit of my invention, or the scope of the subjoined claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a pouring device of the character described, the combination andarrangement in a body including a combined spout-portion and a stopperportion in combination with a bottle, of a pouring passageway extendingthrough the body from end to end of said body and of an air passagewaycommunicating the confines of the bottle with the atmosphere to admit avolume of air corresponding to the volume of contents being poured out,and with the body in a horizontal pouring position, the portion of thepouring passageway extending through thespout portion being arcuatelydownwardly deflected at the bottom thereof and humped at the top thereofadjacent the stopper-portion and sloping, generally in a straight line,to the free end of the spoutportion and diverging at the sides thereofto the free end of the spout-portion, thereby being transitioned from agenerally rounded orifice at the free end to a narrow and high portionof the passageway adjacent the stopper-portion and being substantiallyof a uniform cross-sectional area throughout said spout-portion, andthrough the stopper-portion, of at least a corresponding cross-sectionalarea, the volume of the pouring stream being easily and preciselyregulated as the stream flows through the narrow and high portion of thepouring passageway in the process of pouring, since a major tilting ofthe bottle is necessary to produce a minor change in the volume of thepouring stream; means for opening and closing the pouring orifice of thepouring passageway; and means for opening and closing the outer orificeof the air passageway.

2. The structure defined in claim 1, in which, the body comprises twocomplementary lateral hemi-sections, each section having a sealing facewith complementary helm-portions of the pour-. ing and air passagewaysformed therein, with a ball valve placed inone of the lateral hemi-airpassageways of one of the sections and in sealing said sectionstogether, said ball valve being sealed in the passageway, therebetween.

3. In a pouring device of the character described the combination andarrangement in a body including a combined spout-portion and astopper-portion in combination with a bottle, of a pouring passagewayextending through the body from end to end of said body, and of an airpassageway communicating the confines of the bottle with the atmosphereto admit a volume of air corresponding to the volume of contents beingpoured out, and with the body in a horizontal pouring position, said airpassageway extending along the top of the entire length of the pouringpassageway, the portion of the pouring passageway extending through thespout-portion being arcuately downwardly deflected at the bottomthereof, and humped at the top thereof, adjacent the stopper-portion andsloping, generally in a straight line, to the free end of thespout-portion and diverging at the sides thereof to-said free end,thereby being transitioned from a generally rounded orifice at the freeend to a narrow and high portion of the passageway adjacent thestopper-portion and being substantially of a uniform cross-sectionalarea throughout said spoutportion, and through the stopper-portion, ofat least a corresponding cross-sectional area, the volume of the pouringstream being easily and precisely regulated as the stream flows throughthe narrow and high portion of the pouring passageway in the process ofpouring, since a major tilting of the bottle is necessary to produce aminor change in the volume of the pouring stream; means for opening andclosing the orifices of the passageways at the free end of thespout-portion.

4. In a pouring device of the character described, th combination andarrangement in a body including a combined spout-portion and astopper-portion in combination with a bottle, of a pouring passagewayextending through the body from end to end of said body, and of an airpassageway communicating the confines of the bottle with the atmosphereto admit a volume of air corresponding to the volume of contents beinpoured out, and with the body in a horizontal pouring position, theportion of the pouring passageway extending through the spout-portionbeing arcuately downwardly deflected at the bottom thereof and humped atthe top thereof adjacent the stopper-portion and sloping, generally in astraight line, to the free end of the spoutportion, and diverging at thesides thereof to said free end, thereby being transitioned from agenerally rounded orifice at the free end to a narrow and high portionof the passageway adjacent the stopper-portion, and being substantiallyof a uniform cross-sectional area throughout said spout-portion, andthrough the stopper-portion of at least a corresponding cross-sectionalarea, the volume of the pouring stream being easily and preciselyregulated as the stream flows through the narrow and high portion of thepouring passageway in the process of pouring, since a major tilting ofthe bottle is necessary to produce a minor change in the volume. of thepouring stream; and the air-passageway extending from the free inner endof the stopper-portion through said stopper-portion and upwardly throughthe posterior portion of the spout-portion, substantially back of thehump of the pouring passageway and diverging therefrom in the form of areverse curve emerging as an inlet air-vent, said curved portion of theair passageway being adapted to afford a runway for a gravity operativeball valve, said runway being adapted, at its inner end, to permit airto by-pass said ball-valve and at its inlet vent, provided with anannular seat encompassing said air vent and adapted to seat the ballvalve, said ball valve rolling from said annular seat to the inner endof the runway and opening the air-vent as the bottle is being tilted,and rolling from said inner end onto said annular seat closing theair-vent as the bottle is being arighted; and means for opening andclosing the pouring orifice of the pouring passageway.

5. In a device of the character described, the combination andarrangement in a body including a spout-portion and a stopper-portion incombination with a bottle, of a pouring passageway extending through thebody from end to end of said body, and of an air passagewaycommunicating the confines of the bottle with the atmosphere to admit avolume of air corresponding to the volume of contents being poured out,and with the body in a horizontal pouring position, said air passagewayextending from the free inner end of the stopper-portion through saidstopper-portion, thence upwardly in the form of a reversed curve formedin the posterior portion of the spout-portion and emerging as an inletair vent, said reversely curved portion of the air passageway beingadapted to afiord a runway for a gravity operative ball valve, saidrunway being adapted at its inner end, to permit air to by-pass saidball valve and at its inlet vent provided with an annular seatencompassing said air vent, and adapted to seat the ball valve, saidball valve rolling from said annular seat to the inner end of the runwayand opening the air vent as the bottle is being tilted, and rolling fromsaid inner end onto said annular seat closing the air vent as the bottleis being arighted.

6. In a device of the character described, the combination andarrangement in a body including a combined spout-portion and astopper-portion in combination with a bottle, of a pouring passagewayextending through the body from end to end of said body, and of an airpassageway communicating the confines of the bottle with the atmosphere,to admit a volume of air corresponding to the volume of contents beingpoured out, and with the body in a horizontal pouring position, saidpouring passageway, extending, at the bottom thereof, substantiallyhorizontally straight in the stopper-portion and arcuately downwardlydeflected in the spout-portion to the free end of said spout-portion,and at the top thereof, substantially horizontally straight through thestopper-portion curving uprightly in the posterior portion of thespout-portion and thence curving reversely in the form of a hump andsloping to the orifice at the free end of the spout-portion, the sidesof said pouring passageway being laterally constricted, generally in thespout-portion adjacent the stopper-portion to the extent so that thecross-sectional area throughout the entire length of the pouringpassageway is substantially of a corresponding crosssectional area, thevolume of the pouring stream being easily and precisely regulated as thestream flows through the narrow and high portion of the pouringpassageway in the process of pourin since a major tilting of the bottleis necessary to produce a minor change in the volume of the pouringstream.

EDWARD SOKOLIK.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 98,408 Pratt Dec. 28, 1869 973,616 Beck Oct. 25, 191-01,710,239 Paulson Apr. 23, 1929 1,971,284 Stockman Aug. 21, 19342,047,176 Cisco July 14, 1936 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date496,205 Germany Feb. 28, 1929

